Unprepared: Teachers demand extension of examination date

Say long winter break left no time for adequate preparation.

RAWALPINDI: Students of government schools are at a crossroads following the extended winter vacations as the examination date has not been extended despite their lagging behind in completion of the year’s course.

Talking to The Express Tribune, teachers expressed disappointment over the announcement of the Secondary School Certificate examination by the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education in the first week of March this year.

Teachers claimed that even after opening the schools, the administrations of most were busy in adopting security measures ordered by the government due to which they could not focus on their classes.

Usually, the education department announces winter break from December 24 till 31, but this year the vacations were extended till January 12 due to the terrorist attack on Army Public School Peshawar.

“We are racing against time to complete the course but students won’t be able to get enough time for preparation,” said Zia Abbasi, headmaster of Government High School Kishor.

He said announcement took teachers by surprise as most of them were expecting the BISE Rawalpindi would at least delay the examination for two or three week.

Malik Muzaffar Khan, principal of the Government Christian High School, said the board should cooperate with schools and delay examinations for at least two week so students could prepare well for the tests.

“We usually stop giving classes in the last days of January but this time classes will continue till first February to complete the courses,” he said, adding that they are not satisfied with their students’ preparation.

“If students get poor results we are issued show-cause notices and held responsible. On the other hand, the government is not cooperating with us to prepare the students in time,” he complained.

Besides, teachers said they were making arrangements for the fifth and eighth-grade examinations to be held this month. They demanded to postpone the examinations for at least three weeks to allow for better management of classwork.

When contacted, spokesperson BISE Arsalan Cheema said the December tests were conducted before the announcement of winter vacations which meant that the courses had been completed. “Student will have enough time even if they complete the syllabus in the first week of February to prepare for the examinations,” he said, adding that examination would be held on March 2 this year.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 30^th, 2015.